Richard Hanna and Elizabeth Cree

	Over the next few weeks we'll feature political interviews from Lansing Harbor Festival and others.

The Lansing Harbor Festival is about fun, food, activities, and music.  But for some it's all about politics.  Republicans and Democrats alike came to the festival to meet voters face to face and talk about what they would do if elected.  On the local scene the hot race is for Sheriff where incumbent Peter Meskill is challenged by Ken Lansing in the Democratic Primary September 14th. At the state level Republican Tom Reynolds, who is challenging incumbent Barbara Lifton for her State Assembly seat, and Democrat Ed O'Shea, State Senator Michael Nozzolio's challenger were there to gain support for their campaigns.  While Congressman Michael Arcuri was not at the festival, two challengers were: Republican Richard Hanna and independent Logan Bell were.

"It's great," Hanna said.  "Lansing's a small place, but there's a couple of thousand people here.  That's a big percentage of the population.  It shows you that there are people who want to be here.  They love their community and are looking for things to do on this great lake.  It's pleasant.  It makes me feel good to see."

Local Democrats had a booth at the festival with posters and buttons and the Town of Lansing's County Legislator, Pat Pryor.  The booth featured O'Shea, Meskill, and Arcuri literature and signs.  But the candidates themselves were out among the crowd, talking about how they will fix government.  Republican candidates were shown around the festival by Tompkins County Republican Elections Commissioner Elizabeth Cree.


The Sheriff race is the most immediate with former Cayuga Heights Police Chief Ken Lansing challenging Sheriff Peter Meskill, who is finishing his 12th year as County Sheriff.  Meskill originally ran on the platform of cleaning up the department's finances, and he still stresses that good management is needed in the department.  Lansing mirrored Meskill's last challenger Brian Robertson last Saturday when he said that Meskill is a manager, but the department needs someone with law enforcement experience.  He points to 37 years in the profession.  He also made headlines when the Tompkins County Deputy Sheriff's Association endorsed his candidacy.


Reynolds is a local businessman who wants to cap spending, freeze taxes, change social service contracts to make them results oriented, and sell state assets including 21 state-owned golf courses that he says don't have to do with governing.  He is challenging Lifton, who was a Marty Luster protege who served as his chief of staff before running for his seat when he resigned it.  She is completing her fourth term in Albany.

O'Shea, an English professor at SUNY Oswego,  is challenging Michael Nozzolio, who has filled the 54th district Senate seat since 1992, and currently serves as the Deputy Minority Whip.  In the last election Democrat Paloma Capanna did win Tompkins County, but it was one of the few areas in the district that Nozzolio did not win.  O'Shea says that means he will be concentrating on Tompkins County as a base for support.


"I have a good organization down here already, and going up into Auburn," he said.  "Quite honestly, I'm depending on this area, because it was the only area that went for Paloma Capanna the last time."

Two years ago the federal congressional race was heated with Hanna challenging Arcuri in what turned out to be one of the closest races in the country.  In the end Arcuri won a second term, but Hanna doesn't want him to win a third one.  For his part Arcuri says he concentrates on the issues and that Hanna doesn't stand for anything.  Hanna says Arcuri is a career politician who waffles on the issues, and that he fits the Jeffersonian idea of people coming from all walks of life to serve and then go home.  On Saturday he talked about the need for the government to live within its means, and for smaller government.


"We're not a country that's rich any more, in case anybody doesn't know that," he said.  "Each of us owes approximately $200,000 or so of unfunded future mandates.  We have squandered our parents' money, our money, and now we're working on our kids'.  It's immoral."

Logan Bell, who is challenging Hanna and Arcuri, had a more drastic approach to cutting federal spending.  He is running on the Libertarian ticket as an independent, and says that the federal monetary policy has to be reformed.  Bell currently lives in Lansing.  At 25 the Marine Corps veteran is the youngest candidate, and he says he'll bring that perspective to Washington.

"We're in a depression now," he said.  "Our economy is collapsing around us.  At the same time we still maintain our obligations overseas, spending billions and billions of dollars.  We have to immediately start to channel that money here to start rebuilding our local communities and receive the tax burden on the American people."

All of the candidates seemed to be enjoying the perfect weather at Myers Park.  But they were focussed on meeting people and getting their message across.  While November seems a long time away, the September primary is four and a half weeks from now.  That puts the Sheriff race in the spotlight.  As Meskill walked around the park meeting people, Lansing said the response at his booth was good.

----
v6i32